Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
US eyes nuclear rebirth after Three Mile Island
Agence France-Presse (Wire Service)
Thirty years after the accident at Three Mile Island shattered Americans' trust in nuclear power, lawmakers are touting a nuclear rebirth as a safe, green way to wean the United States off foreign oil. …Steve Wing, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill school of public health, said it would be irresponsible to increase nuclear power capacity without addressing the issue of how to dispose of nuclear waste.
Carotenoid supplements tied to lung cancer risk
Reuters (Wire Service)
Based on the findings from a new study, it appears that people who take higher than recommended doses of carotenoid supplements hoping to keep from getting sick, may actually be doing themselves harm. …High-dose beta-carotene supplements increase the lung cancer rates in high-risk individuals, even though carotenoids from dietary sources tend to lower risk, Dr. Jessie A. Satia and co-researchers note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. …By linking the data to the national cancer registry, Satia, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues identified 521 cases of lung cancer.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2233/107/
Midwest and Northeast May Face Surgeon Shortage
Forbes.com
Certain rural and urban areas of the United States may soon face shortages of access to surgical care, especially for underserved and aging populations, a new study warns. …"Our data shows that, over the past decade, surgeons moved more frequently than all other physicians and tended to relocate to areas with higher concentrations of established physicians," Thomas C. Ricketts, co-director of the Health Policy Institute of the American College of Surgeons and a University of North Carolina professor, said in a news release from the surgeons' group.
National Coverage
'Perfect storm' puts all types in financial peril
USA Today
The current financial crisis is all-inclusive; our path to prosperity or even simple financial stability seemingly obliterated. …Howard Zynkian, 89, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy more than a year ago to help him save his home. …Zynkian's story is an example of how critical events are coming together for people in every life stage, from the youngest to the oldest, says Melissa Jacoby, a law professor at the University of North Carolina. "And we used to assume that the elderly had already built wealth in their homes, and that was part of their retirement plan," she says.
State and Local Coverage
Trustees' report describes idea of a better UNC
The Chapel Hill Herald
The best version of UNC would have more merit-based scholarships, increased research opportunities for the most ambitious undergraduates, higher faculty pay, summer research stipends for graduate students and a bigger charge to Chancellor Holden Thorp's long-distance calling plan. Those are some of the recommendations found in "Carolina: Best place to teach, learn and discover," a report presented by UNC Trustees John Ellison and J.J. Raynor to the full board on Thursday.
Study: Covenant raises student success
The Chapel Hill Herald
Carolina Covenant recipients in the first class of scholars remained in school longer and graduated at higher rates than a comparable group of low-income students entering UNC before the scholarship was available, according to a program update presented to the UNC Board of Trustees on Thursday. The study compared achievement by the first 223 Carolina Covenant scholars that enrolled in fall 2004 — as well as 3,366 other students that had some or no financial need — with a control group from fall 2003 that included 224 students that would have been eligible for the scholarship had it existed.
Grant to boost humanities studies at UNC
WRAL.com
The University of North Carolina has received a $4.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a graduate fellowship program in four humanities departments. The university will match the grant with $2.76 million in private funds to create the Mellon Graduate Fellowship Program. It will support graduate students in the departments of English and comparative literature, history, philosophy, and religious studies.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2355/107/
Global Institute plans unveiled
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC will start a Global Research Institute, the top recommendation from a blue-ribbon task force that spent the past 18 months developing a strategic vision to enhance Carolina's international presence. Chancellor Holden Thorp announced the institute on Thursday. It will be devoted to critical international issues.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/save-the-world-at-unc
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2359/107/
Protesters Disrupt UNC Trustees Meeting
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
About 40 UNC students and faculty members disrupted the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday protesting possible budget cuts at the university. …Before the group went into the meeting, they gathered outside the Inn chanting and holding signs. Shortly after, Chancellor Thorp came out of the BOT meeting to listen to the groups concerns and address them. …Chancellor Thorp has been communicating budget information and updates to the campus community, including students, staff and faculty.
Group protests budget cuts at UNC
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
A group of students, faculty, and workers protested education cuts and layoffs at the UNC Board of Trustees meeting Thursday. …In previous statements to the media, Chancellor Thorp has called the proposed cuts "tough," but said making smaller cuts now will save more jobs down the line.
Related Links:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/2.6423/online-exclusives/protestors
-call-for-input-in-budget-decisions-1.1631114
http://www.news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/606916/
students-fight-cutbacks-at-unc-chapel-hill/Default.aspx
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=9902
UNC extends Baddour's contract to 2012
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Dick Baddour will remain North Carolina's athletic director for at least another three years. UNC's Board of Trustees unanimously approved an extension Thursday extending Baddour's contract to June 20, 2012. "Dick Baddour runs a great athletics department, and he does it within the context of the university's academic mission," Chancellor Holden Thorp said in a prepared statement.
Related Link:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/mar/27/baddour-
gets-three-year-contract-extension/
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2360/107/
UNC, Duke rate as most popular college basketball teams
The Triangle Business Journal
A new poll from Harris Interactive shows what a lot folks around the Triangle already suspected: The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils are the two most popular men’s basketball programs in the country. …UNC is No. 1 this year, with Duke at No. 2.
Getting the Yield to Heels message (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
…But the safety factor to that heavy flow of pedestrians doesn't always get the attention it deserves. …The annual Yield to Heels safety campaign conducted at problem traffic areas on the UNC campus Wednesday is an effort to remind pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings when walking in the street, to avoid cell phones and other distractions when crossing and, above all, to be safety conscious. It's a worthy initiative. But its message needs to be habit-forming. In the meantime, we all need to watch out for one another.
UNC News Brief:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2327/107/
Equity, fiscal and otherwise (Editorial)
The Carrboro Citizen
At the end of this month, the university presents a fiscal impact study on Carolina North, and with it the focus of the next phase of discussions on the project shifts to the sometimes concrete and often ethereal financial intertwining of town and gown. How the towns support the university and the university supports the towns has been part of the dialogue and scuttlebutt here for more than two centuries.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/consultants-to-present
-carolina-north-fiscal-impact-analysis-final-report-march-31.html
Chapel Hill's Idol
WUNC-FM
For the last several weeks, devoted Tar Heel fans have gathered around their television sets religiously to see North Carolina represented on the national stage. But we're not talking about basketball- instead we're talking about American Idol, the tv show where aspiring singers compete for the top prize. A UNC-Chapel Hill grad student, Anoop Desai, is one of the favorites this year. And the campus is rooting for him.
Anoop to sing another week
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Chapel Hill's Anoop Desai is safe for another week. Desai, a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School and UNC Chapel Hill, made the top nine on American Idol Thursday night after his performance Wednesday night of Smokey Robinson's, "Ooh Baby Baby."
PhotoNight set for Wednesday
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC Chapel Hill's National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA), the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies will host its 50th PhotoNight at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the FedEx Global Education Center, Nelson Mandela Auditorium.
Litwin part of lecture series
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The Ackland Art Museum at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosts world-renowned composer Stefan Litwin, the George Kennedy Distinguished Professor of Music at UNC-Chapel Hill, Thursday at 7 p.m., presenting the final installment in the Ackland's ongoing series Perspectives on Progress.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/new-music-slam-poetry
-come-together-in-march-festival.html
Film festival to honor Rydell
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Mark Rydell, whose films include "On Golden Pond," "The Rose" and "Cinderella Liberty," will visit the University of North Carolina Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during a free film festival honoring his work.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/film-festival-to-screen-
work-by-on-golden-pond-director.html
Ensemble concert at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The Hilliard Ensemble, an English classical quartet, will perform the U.S. premiere of a new vocal work Saturday and Sunday at the University of North Carolina.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2310/138/
Issues and Trends
Staving off layoffs (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
SEANC is taking on Bowles over layoffs. Dana Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, sent a letter to the UNC system president. In it, he says he has learned of an e-mail message at UNC-Chapel Hill that calls for reducing staff size now in order to save money in the budget starting July 1.
UNC Greensboro warns of budget-driven layoffs
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
More than 100 employees at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, including dozens of faculty members, will lose their jobs because of budget-driven cost cuts, the Greensboro News & Record reported Friday. UNC Greensboro Chancellor Linda Brady sent a letter to employees and students this week to announce the layoffs.
Related Links:
http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-area-universities-prepare-090326,0,6958386.story
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/state/6-1132278.cfm
Administration official: Obama budget plan helps N.C.
The Star-News (Wilmington)
College students, veterans and patients are among the groups of North Carolinians who would benefit under President Obama’s budget proposals, an administration official said Thursday, pitching the merits of the president’s spending blueprint. …The budget office, highlighting recent budget cuts in the UNC system and concerns over potential layoffs, said Obama’s proposals intended to keep higher education attainable for working families.
Perdue names seven to new Budget Reform commission
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Gov. Beverly Perdue on Thursday announced the initial membership of her Budget Reform and Accountability Commission. The members will help locate and eliminate wasteful expenditures while increasing efficiency in government. The commission includes: …Norma Houston –Lecturer in public law and government at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government; former chief of staff and general counsel to State Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight; and former state assistant attorney general.
State to monitor insurer's expenses
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The State Health Plan has never audited the company it pays about $100 million annually to process members' claims to make sure that the company's expenses are appropriate, the plan's executive administrator said Thursday. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina's contracts with the State Health Plan allow Blue Cross a profit of less than a penny on the dollar. Blue Cross bills the plan to process claims, enroll members and provide other administrative services to the 667,000 state employees, teachers and retirees that it serves.